Seat Routine Equipment Model

ABSTRACT

The subject matter of this specification can be embodied in, among other things, a process that includes defining software travel objects that are configurable to represent a variety of types of accommodations used in transportation of passengers, associating the software travel objects with configurable properties that specify accommodation attributes that affect a passenger&#39;s experience during travel, and receiving, through a user interface, information used to customize the configurable properties during run-time of a software application that manages travel reservations for accommodations. The process also includes outputting the customized configurable properties for use by a user in a selection of one or more of the accommodations during a travel reservation.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This instant specification relates to travel accommodations, and, moreparticularly, to seat routine processes.

BACKGROUND

Certain online reservation systems are used to make travel reservations.For example, certain online reservation systems can receive adestination and date for travel from a user. The received destinationand date of travel can be used as criteria to perform a search todetermine whether a seat on an aircraft is available. The search maylocate one or more seats that correspond to the received date anddestination details.

SUMMARY

In general, this document describes provisioning travel accommodations.

In a first general aspect, a computer-implemented process is described,which provides customized attributes relating to a passenger'sexperience during travel that can be used to select accommodations whenmaking travel reservations. The process includes defining softwaretravel objects that are configurable to represent a variety of types ofaccommodations used in transportation of passengers, associating thesoftware travel objects with configurable properties that specifyaccommodation attributes that affect a passenger's experience duringtravel, and receiving, through a user interface, information used tocustomize the configurable properties during run-time of a softwareapplication that manages travel reservations for accommodations. Theprocess also includes outputting the customized configurable propertiesfor use by a user in a selection of one or more of the accommodationsduring a travel reservation.

In a second general aspect, a system is described, which providescustomized criteria for use in selecting an accommodation when makingtravel provisions. The system includes a data structure for softwareobjects that are configurable to represent a plurality of types ofaccommodations that are used in transportation of passengers. The datastructure includes configurable fields that are associated with aspectsof accommodations that affect a passenger's travel experience. Thesystem also includes a field customization module configured to receiveinput used to customize the configurable fields during run-time of asoftware application that manages travel provisions and a customerinterface to present at least a portion of the customized configurablefields for use by a customer in selection of one or more of theaccommodations during a travel provision.

The details of one or more embodiments are set forth in the accompanyingdrawings and the description below. Other features and advantages willbe apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an example system for configuring, customizing,and managing travel accommodations.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of user interactions with aconfigurable travel provision application.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of an example method for defining and using asoftware travel object.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an example system used to allocate seatingreservations.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of an example method for selecting accommodationsduring a travel reservation.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an example system for mapping seatassignments.

FIG. 7 is a screen shot showing an example application for editingmarketing configuration properties.

FIG. 8 is a screen shot showing an example application for configuringseating accommodations.

FIG. 9 shows screen shots of an example application for modifyingseating map properties.

FIG. 10 shows screen shots of an example application for assigningweighting factors to seating accommodations.

FIG. 11 is a schematic of a general computing system.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing alternative implementations formanaging accommodations.

Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This document describes systems and techniques for configuring,customizing, and managing travel provisions as well as customizedattributes relating to those provisions. Travel provisions can includeone or more reservations, schedule requests, or cargo accommodationrequests for a travel accommodation. For example, travel accommodationscan include seats, rooms, or reserved space on passenger carriers suchas a motor vehicle, a sea craft, an aircraft, or a train. In otherexamples, the travel accommodations also include rooms, or reservedspace in a building, such as a hotel or a warehouse.

The system can include generic software objects that can be customized,or configured, to represent a variety of travel accommodations, Forexample, a user can configure a generic software object so that itrepresents a seat on an airplane. The user also can configure the samegeneric software object to represent a cabin on a cruise ship.

In some implementations, each customized software object is associatedwith properties that relate to conditions that influence a payload, suchas passengers or cargo, during travel. For instance, the properties canindicate physical characteristics of the accommodation (also referred toas “equipment”). For example, a particular seat on a train may beassociated with a property that describes a direction the seat isfacing.

In certain implementations, equipment has properties that are associatedwith marketing characteristics of the accommodation. For example, a usercan designate a particular bus seat as having a “sociable” property thatindicates the seat is located in an area designated for passengers whowish to talk to each other. This property may be used to market theparticular seat to users who wish to socialize with surroundingpassengers.

Modification or configuration of the properties associated with travelaccommodations can be configured, modified, ranked, and managed by atravel provision application during run-time (e.g., as opposed to duringdesign-time) of the application 102. For example, a customer or ticketagent can use the travel provision application 102 to modify a travelaccommodation and its specified attributes if the accommodation changes.For example, a train seat may have a property indicating that it isfacing forward during travel from City A to City B. When the trainreturns from City B to City A, the travel direction for the seat maychange. In this case, a user (either machine or human) can modify theproperty so that it indicates that the train seat faces backward duringtravel from City B to City A. A user can make this modification duringthe execution of travel provision application 102 without having to, forexample, recompile the travel provision application.

In some implementations, a customer can access the travel provisionapplication 102 to plan a trip. For example, the customer can reserve atravel accommodation, such as a train seat, for travel on a particulardate. In certain implementations, a customer submits preferences, whichthe travel provision application 102 uses to identify a travelaccommodation that most closely matches the submitted preferences. Forexample, the customer can submit a preference for a train seat that islocated in a train car that is designated as having a sociable ambience.

The customer also can request an accommodation having specific physicalamenities. For example, the customer can request that the accommodationinclude a reclining seat or be handicap accessible. The customer alsocan request that the accommodation have particular services. Forexample, the customer can request that the accommodation be associatedwith first class service (regardless of whether it is located in a firstclass section).

The customer can also request that an accommodation have a particularlocation relative to other accommodations reserved by the customer. Forexample, a customer can specify that additional seats reserved by acustomer be located within the same aisle as a seat previously reservedby the customer.

In certain implementations, the customer can also indicate a rank ofimportance to associate with a submitted preference. For example, thecustomer can submit a rank indicating that the customer has a toppreference that a train seat to be forward facing during travel and alower preference that the train seat be located on a second deck of atrain car.

In some implementations, the travel provision application 102 can beused by an employee of a travel provider for customizing travelaccommodations for customers, employees, or cargo. For example, anairline employee can use the travel provision application 102 to createa schedule accommodation for a flight crew (e.g., schedule a pilot,crew, or air marshal to fly on an aircraft). In another example, a trainticket agent can use the travel provision application 102 to create arequest for a cargo accommodation, such as reserving a refrigerated carfor food items.

Additionally, a request for an accommodation is not limited toaccommodations on travel carriers, but can include accommodations forstationary storage. For example, the request can be for a room in ahotel or for a storage space in a warehouse.

In some implementations, the properties of an accommodation areassociated with pricing debits or credits that are applied to chargesfor the accommodation. For example, each customized configurableproperty can be associated with a price increase or decrease. In someimplementations, the travel provision application 102 can aggregatepricing debits and credits with a particular base price of one or moreof the accommodations to determine an adjusted price for each of theaccommodations.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an exemplary system 100 for configuring,customizing, and managing travel accommodations. In the example of FIG.1, the travel provision application 102 is running on server 103. Thetravel provision application 102 can use generic travel objects 104 todefine one or more travel accommodations. In some implementations, ageneric travel object is a software object defined using a classdefinition of an object-oriented programming language, such as Java orC++. The travel object can represent a variety of accommodation typesand have associated customizable properties. As such, generic travelobjects 104 may be used to instantiate particular equipment (e.g., atrain compartment, an airline seat, etc.) with various customizableproperties.

In operation, the travel provision application 102 can use a generictravel object located in repository 104 to create one or more travelobjects. For example, a generic travel object 104 can be used toinstantiate a train seat travel object 106 or an airline seat travelobject 108 that are subsequently available for passenger reservation.The instantiated objects store customized user-entered criteria relatedto the accommodation equipment (e.g., physical attributes of seats,rooms, etc.).

FIG. 1 shows a train seat travel object 106 and an airline seat travelobject 108. The train seat travel object 106 includes variousconfigurable properties 110 set by a user of the travel provisionapplication 102. The configurable properties 110 may correspond to oneor more pieces of equipment located in the train car 112. In thisexample, the configurable properties 110 of the travel object 106represents a particular train seat, such as train seat 114.

In some implementations, the travel object's configurable properties 110correspond to attributes besides physical properties of equipment. Forinstance, the configurable properties 110 can also include servicesoffered during travel. For example, a first configurable property 116 arepresents a choice for where to receive meals. Here, the train seat isassociated with a meal service at the train seat 114.

The illustration of the seat 114 in a train car 112 shows exemplaryattributes that can be associated with a seat, such as meal services 116b, type of ceiling 118 b, a group the seat with which the seat isassociated 120 b, a level on which the seat is located 122 b, and adirection the seat is facing 124 b. Each of these attributes can berepresented by properties associated with a travel object 106representing the seat 114. For example, a configurable property 118 arepresents the type of ceiling—transparent—associated with seat 118 b.Configurable property 120 a represents a group assigned to the seat. Inthis example, the seat is assigned to a senior citizen tour, whichindicates that this seat is reserved for members of that tour.

In another example, a configurable property 122 a indicates that theseat 114 is located on the second deck of the train car 112.Additionally, the example of FIG. 1 shows a configurable property 124 athat corresponds to a seating direction that indicates which way theseat 114 is facing during travel of the train car 112. The train seattravel object 106 depicts a few of the configurable properties for thetrain car 112, but other configurable options are possible.

As implied in the description above, some of the configurable propertiesmay stay the same for a particular accommodation and some maysubsequently change. For example, the travel object 106 representing thetrain seat 114 can have a static configurable property that specifiesthat the seat 114 is located on the second level of the train car 112.This property does not change because it is a physical property of theseat 114 that is fixed. The configurable property representing thetravel direction, however, may change. For example, if the train car 112switches travel direction (e.g., on a return trip), the property can bechanged to indicate that the seat is now facing backwards during travel.

Similarly, the travel object 108 can represent a differentaccommodation, such as an airline seat 126. Like the travel object 106representing train seat, the travel object 108 can have variousconfigurable properties 128 that represent attributes of the airlineseat 126 as shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing example user interactions 200 with theconfigurable travel provision application 102. The interactions 200 canbegin with a train agent 202 accessing server 103 to configure the trainseat travel objects 106. The train seat travel objects 106 can haveconfigurable properties corresponding to one or more aspects of thetrain seat equipment. The train agent 202 can input values 203 forconfigurable properties of the train seat equipment. In certainimplementations, the configurable properties can include attributes thataffect a passenger's travel experience. The train agent 202 can inputthe values at a train station before travel occurs or after one or moresegments of travel has occurred.

As shown in FIG. 2, a customer also can access the travel provisionapplication 102 through a customer interface 204. The customer interface204 can include a web service application program interface thatinteracts with a web page accessible by a browser 205 (as shown), a PDA,a cell phone, or other network-enabled devices.

In general, the customer interface 204 can permit the customer to createmodify, or otherwise manage travel provisions, such as airline or trainreservations. In particular, the customer interface 204 can allow accessto the property customization module 206 to manage the travelprovisions. The property customization module 206 is configured toreceive input from train agent 203 and preference criteria from customerinterface 204. The train agent 203 can enter configurable properties 203into the property customization module 206. The customer can use theinterface 205 to specify preferences that affect the selection of one ormore travel provisions, such as travel reservations.

The customer interface 204 can present a graphical user interface forthe user to enter preferences, which are then matched with properties ofaccommodations in a provisioning process (e.g., during an airline seatreservation process). For example, the customer can select a “seatingdirection during travel” field 208 to indicate his or her seat directionpreference during travel. In this example, the customer selects from alist of forward, backward, face window, or do not care options.Similarly, the customer can select other travel provision preferences,such as preferred group 210 with which to sit, an ambiance 212associated with the accommodation, or other attributes of theaccommodation, such as those described in association with FIG. 1.

In addition to selecting travel provision preferences, in certainimplementations, the customer can associate a ranking 214 with eachpreference. The travel provision application 102 can use the ranking todetermine which criterion to prefer in the selection of one or moretravel provisions, which are returned to the customer. Here, thecustomer has ranked the “seating direction during travel” field 208 asthe most important preference.

In some implementations, the ranking can indicate the user-definedimportance for each preference relative to the user's other preferences.For example, a customer can rank his or her preferences such that thesystem determines which criterion to prefer in the selection of one ormore amenities (e.g., first class service type most important, thenreclining seat, etc.). In some implementations, such as when the userdoes not provide preference rankings, the travel provision application102 can apply a default ranking mechanism to the user's selectedpreferences. For example, travel provision application 102 can beconfigured to weight a preference indicating that multiple seats shouldbe reserved together over an ambience preference.

In some implementations, the travel provision application 102 can usethe train agent values 203 for the configurable properties and theuser-entered preferences from interface 204 to select travelprovision(s) to return to the user. For example, an optimization schemecan be used to compare ranked criteria to the customized configurableattributes of travel objects. If the travel provision application 102finds one or more accommodations that have configurable properties thatmatch the user-submitted preferences, the application 102 can return theresults to the user. The user can then select an accommodation forprovisioning (e.g., the user can select a cruise cabin to reserve from aset of returned available cruise cabins).

In some implementations, the user that makes travel provision is a humancustomer as described above, however, the user also can be a softwareprogram that is part of or interacts with the travel provisionapplication 102. For example, there may be a proxy server (not shown)that acts as an intermediary between a customer and the travel provisionapplication 102. The proxy may cull a subset of the configurableproperties to present to a customer during a travel reservation process.In another implementation, the travel provision application 102 may selfselect preferences based on a customer's profile. For example, thecustomer can submit a profile that lists preferences (and optionallyrankings) which are later used when a passenger access the customerinterface to make a reservation. In another example, the application 102may automatically schedule crews for a carrier based on availability ofcrew members, government regulations, carrier routes, etc. In thislatter example, the accommodations can include entire carriers, such asplanes, instead of individual equipment (e.g., seats) on a carrier.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of an example method 300 for defining and using asoftware travel object. The software travel object can represent avariety of accommodation types and associated customizable properties.The method 300 may be performed by an application, such as the travelprovision application 102, for example.

In step 302, the process 300 can begin by receiving values forconfigurable properties from a carrier employee (e.g., airline employee,train employee, warehouse employee, hotel employee etc.). The values maybe, for example, configurable properties for the software travel object,which specify attributes of an accommodation (e.g. equipment) thataffect a passenger's experience during travel. For example, a hotelaccommodation may have attributes such as turn-down service, penthouselevel, mini-bar, living room, etc.

In step 304, the configurable properties for travel accommodations aredynamically updated. In certain implementations, a ticket agent can usethe property customization module 206 to dynamically update theconfigurable properties. For example, if a train switches direction at astation stop, the travel direction for each of the seats can bedynamically updated (with or without human intervention).

In step 306, the configurable properties can be transmitted to a userfor selection of an accommodation. For example, the travel provisionapplication 102 can transmit the configurable properties to the customerinterface 204. The configurable properties can be used to generateavailable accommodation attributes, which are presented to a user forselection. For example, if a configurable property includes ceilingtype, which can have two possible values—transparent and opaque, thecustomer interface can generate a user interface element

In step 308, the method 300 includes receiving a selection from the usercontaining desired properties for the accommodation. For example, theuser can request a travel provision for a forward facing seat 208 and anambiance 212, such as “quiet,” using the customer interface 204. Therequest can be sent to the travel provision application 102 to searchfor an available accommodation (e.g., a seat having the forward facingproperty).

Optionally, the method 300 can include receiving an associated rankingwith each selected property. For example, the user can add a rankingassociated with the user's selections and forward the rankings to thetravel provision application 102. In some implementations, the travelprovision application 102 can use the rankings in an optimizationfunction to determine a “best fit” accommodation.

In some implementations, a proxy server performs the process 300, wherethe proxy server services customer requests receiving, formatting, andforwarding customer selections and rankings to other servers. Forexample, the customer interface 204 can connect to a proxy server (notshown) to receive an updated list of configurable properties. In thisexample, the travel provision application 102 may submit theconfiguration properties to the proxy server where they can bereformatted or used in the generation of an graphical user interface(GUI). In some implementations, the user can be another softwareapplication (as opposed to a human customer) that, for example, uses theproxy server to configure and select a particular combination of seatassignments.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an example system used to allocate seatingreservations. The system illustrates the use of a seating algorithm 400in the travel provision application 102. The seating algorithm 400 canprovide a user with options (e.g., possible values for customizedproperties) used to select accommodations during a travel provisioningprocess. In some implementations, after receiving user preferences, theseating algorithm 400 uses an optimization function to compare thepreferences to properties of accommodations to determine accommodationsthat best match the user's preferences.

In some implementations, the seating algorithm 400 generates thecustomer interface 204. The customer can use the customer interface 204to send accommodation preferences 402 (and optionally, the rankingscores 406) to an optimization function 404. The optimization function404 can produce use the preferences and weights associated with thepreferences to select one or more accommodations for presentation to,for example, a customer reserving airline seats. In someimplementations, the ranking scores are used in the calculation of theweights associated with the preferences. In other implementations, theweights associated with particular properties are predetermined.

In an example, the customer can use interface 204 to send accommodationpreferences for a cruise voyage. The preferences may include a number ofpassengers, a price, a service type, a destination, a date of travel, alength of travel, a deck level, an ambience for the accommodation, orother conditions influencing the customer during travel.

After receiving accommodation preferences 402, the optimization functioncan use the preferences to determine what accommodation(s) best matchthe preferences. For example, the optimization function 404 can querythe data store 408 to receive information on one or more travel objectsin data store 408. In this example, data store 408 includes a cruisecabin travel objects. Each cruise cabin travel object 410 is a softwarerepresentation of a cruise ship cabin for a particular cruise ship.Cruise cabin travel objects can be available 412 or previously reserved414. If a cruise cabin travel object is available, the accommodation itrepresents can be selected for reservation. If a cruise cabin travelobject is reserved, it has been previously reserved by, for example,another customer. The cruise cabin travel objects have properties thatare compared with the user-submitted preferences to determine whichcruise cabins best match the user's preferences.

The optimization function 404 generally attempts to find a suitableaccommodation for customer entered preferences 402 by comparing thepreferences 402 with properties of the cruise cabins 410. In someimplementations, the optimization function can determine which travelobject has the most properties that match the user's preferences. Thecustomer interface can then present information to a customeridentifying accommodations associated with the matching travel objectsso that the customer can select an accommodation to reserve.

In some implementations, the optimization function accounts for weightsassociated with the preferences or other information received from theuser. For example, if a particular passenger has more than one segmentof travel, the optimization function 404 can favor the selection of anaccommodation further from a carrier's egress (e.g., toward the back ofan airplane) so that passengers with only one segment are placed closerto the exit (so that they can exit quickly). In another example, if acustomer requests a handicap accessible room, the travel provisionapplication 102 can—by default—weight the accessibility preferencehigher than any other submitted preference to ensure the room is indeedhandicap accessible.

In some implementations, the optimization function may first attempt tofind an accommodation “match” from the set of available travel objects412. If a satisfactory match is not found, the function also can examinepreviously reserved travel objects 414 to determine if a match can befound. If a match is found in the previously reserved travel objects,the match can be presented to the user for reservation if the travelprovisioning application 102 can re-assign the customer who previouslyhad reserved the accommodation to another accommodation that satisfiesthe customer's preferences. For example, if a first customer's onlysubmitted preference is that a cruise cabin have a window, the travelprovision application 102 can re-assign the first customer to anothercruise cabin that has a window, thereby freeing up the previouslyreserved cabin for presentation to a new customer for possiblereservation.

In some instances, neither an available accommodation nor a reservedaccommodation may satisfy a user's preferences. In this case, theoptimization function 404 can, in some implementations, remove orre-rank one or more preferences submitted in a request for a travelprovision. For example, a customer request may include six preferences:window room, Victorian themed room, top deck, 9-day cruise, destinationBahamas, and early evening flight on Saturday. If an exact accommodationcannot be found, the optimization function can determine the closestmatch based on fewer requested options. For example, the optimizationfunction 404 discount or eliminate the preference “9-day cruise,” if amatching accommodation is not available.

In certain implementations, the optimization function 404 can re-rankthe requested options to find a suitable accommodation. For example, ifa user specifies that the preference “top deck” has a ranking of “1,”indicating that the preference is most important, the function 404 mayre-rank the preference to “2,” and raise, for example, the preference“Bahamas” to “1.” The re-ranked preferences can indicate that theoptimization function now selects an accommodation on a lower deckassociated with a Bahamas cruise over an accommodation on the top deckassociated with a non-Bahamas cruise.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of an example method 500 for selectingaccommodations during a travel reservation. At step 502, the method 500receives a customer request for a travel reservation and a ranking ofpreferences. The customer can specify preferences that affect thecustomer's experience during travel. For example, the customer may wishto reserve space in a warehouse and specifies a preference that thespace must be refrigerated. In another example, the customer can requestairline seats that satisfy the following preferences: two seats next toeach other, coach section, and champagne service while in flight. Inthis example, the order listed is the customer's preferred ranking orderof importance. The request and ranking can be sent to the optimizationfunction 404, for analysis.

At step 504, it is determined whether the customer request can besatisfied in the ranked order from the available accommodations. If anaccommodation is available that meets all the preferences, theoptimization function 404 can output the available accommodationinformation to the customer, in step 506. In some implementations, thecustomer then can review the accommodation and book a reservationthrough the customer interface 204.

If the customer request cannot be satisfied by an availableaccommodation, in step 508, it is determined whether the customerrequest can be satisfied in the ranked order from the reservedaccommodations. For example, the optimization function 404 can determinewhether one or more reserved accommodations matches the customerrequest. In particular, the optimization function 404 can compare theranked criteria to the customized, configurable properties of one ormore reserved software travel objects. If the optimization function 404determines that a reserved accommodation can satisfy the customerrequest, it is determined, in step 510, whether the previous customerrequests associated with the previously reserved accommodations can besatisfied by an available accommodation.

If it is determined that the previously customer request cannot besatisfied from the available accommodations, a re-ranking of thesubmitted preferences can be attempted. In step 512, if the re-rankingattempts have not been exhausted (e.g., based on a predeterminedthreshold), the optimization function 404 can re-rank the customer'spreferences, in step 514, and return to step 508 to re-query theavailable—and possibly the reserved—accommodations.

If, however, in step 312, the re-ranking attempts have been exhausted,the optimization function 404 can select a default accommodation, instep 516. The default accommodation information can be outputted to thecustomer for review, in step 518. For example, the optimization function404 can ignore the preferences and pick an available cruise.

If the optimization function 404 determines (in step 510) that apreviously reserved accommodation can be re-assigned, the function 404can re-assign, in step 520, the previously reserved accommodation to thenew customer and reserve for the previous customer an availableaccommodation that satisfies the previous customer's preferences. Insome implementations, requirements for reassigning accommodationspreviously reserved for a customer include keeping the newly assignedaccommodations together. For example, if a previous customer reservedthree airline seats together, any reassignment of seats would requirethat the seats be together.

After assigning a previously reserved accommodation to a new customer,the method 500 can optionally alert the previous customer of thereservation changes, in step 522. For example, the travel provisionapplication 102 can send an email, a text message, or a phone call tonotify the customer about the modification. In some implementations, anupgrade can be applied to the previous customer's reservation. Forexample, a free drink, room upgrade, flight upgrade, or other amenitiescan be added to the customer's reservation.

The optimization function 404 can output selected accommodation(s) tothe new customer, in step 506. The output can include one or moreavailable accommodations resulting from the determination (byoptimization function 404) for use in the customer selection of a travelaccommodation. In some implementations, the previous customer can begiven an option to reject a change in his or her reserved accommodationsbefore the accommodations are made available for selection to the newcustomer. In some implementations, the previously reserved accommodationmay have been reserved as a “flexible” accommodations indicating that areservation that met the preferences was assigned but not indicating anassignment of a specific room, seat, etc. In this case, the previouscustomer may not be notified of a modification to a reservedaccommodation because any change would not be apparent to the customer.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an example system 600 for mapping seatassignments. The system 600 indicates, for example, how to create seatmaps 602 and marketing templates 604 for a train 606. The seat maps 602and marketing templates 604 can be stored in a data store 607 in system600. The seat maps 604 can represent the physical equipment layout(e.g., individual seat layout) of the train car. For example, the seatmap 604 can include layout information physical properties of theaccommodations, such as seat orientation and numbering. The marketingtemplates 604 represent one or more “marketing” properties (e.g., seatambiance) associated with the equipment. In some implementations, themarketing properties are not tied to the particular seat and may bechanged dynamically. For instance, marketing templates 604 can be usedto logically group seats and cars for marketing purposes. In oneexample, the marketing template can be used to assign a “quiet ambience”property to a group of seats. Customers can then select these seats ifthey wish to have a quiet environment during travel.

In the example of FIG. 6, seat maps and marketing templates are appliedto accommodations on train 606. In some implementations, the maps andtemplates are implemented using the travel provision software, which isused by a train employee, administrator, or ticket agent to defineproperties associated with the train seats.

In operation, a train employee using the travel provision software cancreate and/or modify seat map configurations and marketingconfigurations for one or more trains. New seat maps and marketingconfigurations may be requested by customers and/or ticketing agentsthat differ slightly from existing seat maps and marketingconfigurations. As such, the train employee or administrator can copy anexisting seat map and/or marketing configuration to create a new seatmap or marketing configuration.

FIG. 6 depicts a train 606 traveling in a first direction from City 1 toCity 2 and then to City 3. Upon reaching City 3, the train can return toeither City 2 or City 1, but may change either marketing templates orseating maps based on several possible occurrences. For example, a trainmay change train cars, which correspondingly requires a change in seatmaps if the cars are physically different. In another example, themarketing properties may change for each leg of the trip. For example,car 1 can be associated with a social ambience traveling from City 1 toCity 2, but have a quiet ambience from City 2 to City 3.

In some implementations, a seating map or marketing template can beapplied to an entire carrier, on a per car basis (e.g., per train car),per or seat basis. In one example, the travel provision application cancreate, modify, or replace the marketing templates on a per car basis,where individual properties are assigned to each seat in a car. Forexample, a seat located on an upper deck with a conference room may havea particular properties associated with a marketing template for thetrain car in which the seat resides.

In the depicted example of FIG. 6, various marketing templates 604 havebeen applied to each car. For example, the CAR 1 train car is mapped asa social ambience car 610, where the ambiance is considered “social.”The CAR 2 train car is mapped as a forward facing car 612 where allseats face forward during travel. The CAR 3 train car is mapped as areserved chess club car 614 and may be available for reservation bychess club members. The CAR 4 is mapped as a seat car 616 indicatingthat the car's equipment consists of seats (as opposed to traincompartments, for example).

The same train traveling from City 2 to City 3 can be mapped withdifferent marketing templates that were dynamically updated after travelbetween City 1 and City 2 was completed. In this example, the seat map602 is used for the train 606. The seat map 602 can include differentproperties for the train seats than the seat map 608. For example, atCity 2 the CAR 4 train car 616 is replaced with a CAR 5 train car 618,which has different physical equipment (i.e., train compartments) thanthe CAR 4 train car. The seat map 602 reflects this change by indicatingthat CAR 5 has compartments.

Other changes in the seat map 602 include mapping the CAR 1 train car asa quiet ambiance car 620 instead of having a social ambiance. Also, theCAR 2 train car is now mapped as a rear facing car 622, and the. CAR 3train car is now mapped as an open car 624, which is available forgeneral seating.

FIG. 7 is a screen shot showing an example interface application 700 forediting marketing configuration properties. Marketing configurationproperties may change frequently during a booking process based ondemand for seats, for example. In some implementations, marketingproperties can be modified to optimize revenue and enhance customerexperience by catering to customer travel preferences and requirements.

As shown in FIG. 7, a particular marketing property configuration can bemodified by selecting the configuration from dropdown 701 in application700. The dropdown 701 can list one or more selectable marketingconfigurations. A different marketing configuration can be selected andapplied, for example, to each train or train car. The application alsocan display information related to outstanding tasks 702, traininformation 704, car information 706, and seat properties 708.

As shown in FIG. 7, the user has selected deck one of Test Car A 707. Inthe depicted example tabs are used to switch between the decks of atrain car when a car has more than one deck. The user of application 700can choose an ambiance level in seat properties 708. To select a sectionof seats for modification, the user can click and drag a cursor over agroup of seats. Once the seats are selected, the marketing propertiescan be changed for the selected seats. Here, the user has selected“iDzen ambience” which indicates an area for customers that prefer aquiet atmosphere and want to sit with others that prefer the same. The“iDzen ambience” seats are noted in application 700 by an “X” shown onthe seat icon. One or more icons can be added to any or all seats toindicate other marketing properties may apply.

The screen shot 700 also depicts a legend 710 for distinguishingmarketing properties on one or more seats. For example, the legend 701distinguishes seats having an X with quiet ambience and seats having a Ywith social ambiance. Similarly, selected seats 710 have a dashed linearound them to indicate changes made will be applied to selected seats.As such, users of application 700 can generally select a portion ofseats for applying marketing properties (i.e., several seats can bemodified at one time). Here, the user has selected seats 712 formodification.

FIG. 8 is a screen shot showing another example interface application800 for configuring seating accommodations. The application 800 can beused to modify the map of a carrier, such as a train car. The map can bemodified by changing fields, such as car information 802, car dimensions804, physical arrangements 806, car properties 808, and seat properties810. For example, a user can select the car information section 802 tomodify identifiers for the car, such as a model name to associate withthe train car. The user can also select car dimensions field 804 tomodify car dimensions. For example, car dimensions can relate to a widthand a length as well as the number of decks.

The user can also modify the physical arrangement 806 of equipment onthe train. For example, the user can add seats, beds, tables,compartments, doors, stairs, windows, or other equipment to one or moretrain cars. The user also can modify the car properties 808 for a traincar. The properties 808 can include attributes, such as whether the carincludes a luggage rack, has a handicap lavatory, or has a telephone.The user also can modify seat properties 810. In this example, aselected seat (i.e., seat number 14) is associated with the seatproperties: extra legroom and a table. In some implementations, seatproperties have an associated icon or color to identify which seats havewhich properties. In some implementations, the user can select aquick-select seat dropdown 814 to select a particular seat.

In some implementations, the seat properties can be copied and pastedfrom a first seat to a second seat (or to a group of seats). The seatproperties or the representations of the seats themselves can also bedeleted or modified (e.g., a seat can be replaced with another piece ofequipment, such as a lavatory).

FIG. 9 shows screen shots of another example interface application 900for modifying configurable seat map properties. A user can input a seatmap property name in the name field 901 and a seat map code in the codefiled 902. As shown, a user can select which equipment types can beassociated with the property, as shown in the “Equipment Type” field. Inthis example, the new property can be associated with both aircraftequipment and train equipment.

The application 900 also includes a display field 904. The display fieldincludes a display priority interface element 906 that can be used toset the priority for displaying icons on a selected seat map for one ormore seat map properties. The display field 904 also includes a fileselector 908 for choosing an icon file to represent the property. Inaddition, the user can select a terminal display character using acontrol 910 and a terminal display priority using a control 912.

The application 900 also includes a list of logical items that can beassociated with the seat map property. Exemplary items are shown in an“Allowed On” section 914. Here, the user can determine which logicalitems can be associated with the property. In this example, theallowable list includes equipment, compartments, physical units, andmarketing units. The user can also choose to set the status of the seatmap properties as active or inactive using a status control 916.

FIG. 9 also shows interface elements displayed in association with avalue tab 918. In this example, the elements are used to configurevalues possible for the property. For example, the radio button 920 canbe used to indicate whether the property is associated with a particularvalue. The radio button 922 can indicate whether the value is numeric,and the radio button 924 can be selected if the property should includea list of possible values. The list can be entered by a user in the textbox associated with the list radio button.

FIG. 9 also shows interface elements displayed in association with aSearch options tab 926. The search options tab 926 includes a searchpriority field 928. In certain implementations, this value correspondsto or influences the weights used to select accommodations as describedabove. For example, the search priority field 928 can set a priority forthe selected seat map property when searching for seats in application102. The user may also choose to allow searching on this property byselecting the allow searching checkbox 930.

FIG. 9 also shows interface elements displayed in association with aManagement tab 932. The management tab 932 can be used to set or removerestrictions associated with the property.

FIG. 10 shows screen shots of an example interface application 1000 forassigning weighting factors to seating accommodations. Weighting factorscan be used in the selection of accommodations, as discussed previously.The application 1000 can manipulate weights associated with each of theproperties. As shown, the properties are arranged with the most heavilyweighted properties appearing closer to the top of the list. Theproperties are also, in this example, associated with a weight thatcorresponds to their position in the list. For example, the top listedproperty is “Cabin Class,” which is associated with a weight of “100.”The next listed property is “Position,” and is associated with a lowerweight of “99.”

In this example, the interface permits a user to modify the position(and thus the weight) of each property, remove properties, or addproperties. When adding properties, a user can select the new propertiesfrom a list 1006 included in a new window 1004 generated when, forexample, the “Add . . . ” button is selected.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a computer system 1100. The system1100 can be used for the operations described in association with any ofthe computer-implement methods described previously, according to oneimplementation. The system 1100 is intended to include various forms ofdigital computers, such as laptops, desktops, workstations, personaldigital assistants, servers, blade servers, mainframes, and otherappropriate computers. The system 1100 can also include mobile devices,such as personal digital assistants, cellular telephones, smartphones,and other similar computing devices. Additionally the system can includeportable storage media, such as, Universal Serial Bus (USB) flashdrives. For example, the USB flash drives may store operating systemsand other applications. The USB flash drives can include input/outputcomponents, such as a wireless transmitter or USB connector that may beinserted into a USB port of another computing device.

The system 1100 includes a processor 1110, a memory 1120, a storagedevice 1130, and an input/output device 1140. Each of the components1110, 1120, 1130, and 1140 are interconnected using a system bus 1150.The processor 1110 is capable of processing instructions for executionwithin the system 1100. The processor may be designed using any of anumber of architectures. For example, the processor 1110 may be a CISC(Complex Instruction Set Computers) processor, a RISC (ReducedInstruction Set Computer) processor, or a MISC (Minimal Instruction SetComputer) processor.

In one implementation, the processor 1110 is a single-threadedprocessor. In another implementation, the processor 1110 is amulti-threaded processor. The processor 1110 is capable of processinginstructions stored in the memory 1120 or on the storage device 1130 todisplay graphical information for a user interface on the input/outputdevice 1140.

The memory 1120 stores information within the system 1100. In oneimplementation, the memory 1120 is a computer-readable medium. In oneimplementation, the memory 1120 is a volatile memory unit. In anotherimplementation, the memory 1120 is a non-volatile memory unit.

The storage device 1130 is capable of providing mass storage for thesystem 1100. In one implementation, the storage device 1130 is acomputer-readable medium. In various different implementations, thestorage device 1130 may be a floppy disk device, a hard disk device, anoptical disk device, or a tape device.

The input/output device 1140 provides input/output operations for thesystem 1100. In one implementation, the input/output device 1140includes a keyboard and/or pointing device. In another implementation,the input/output device 1140 includes a display unit for displayinggraphical user interfaces.

The features described can be implemented in digital electroniccircuitry, or in computer hardware, firmware, software, or incombinations of them. The apparatus can be implemented in a computerprogram product tangibly embodied in an information carrier, e.g., in amachine-readable storage device or in a propagated signal, for executionby a programmable processor; and method steps can be performed by aprogrammable processor executing a program of instructions to performfunctions of the described implementations by operating on input dataand generating output. The described features can be implementedadvantageously in one or more computer programs that are executable on aprogrammable system including at least one programmable processorcoupled to receive data and instructions from, and to transmit data andinstructions to, a data storage system, at least one input device, andat least one output device. A computer program is a set of instructionsthat can be used, directly or indirectly, in a computer to perform acertain activity or bring about a certain result. A computer program canbe written in any form of programming language, including compiled orinterpreted languages, and it can be deployed in any form, including asa stand-alone program or as a module, component, subroutine, or otherunit suitable for use in a computing environment.

Suitable processors for the execution of a program of instructionsinclude, by way of example, both general and special purposemicroprocessors, and the sole processor or one of multiple processors ofany kind of computer. Generally, a processor will receive instructionsand data from a read-only memory or a random access memory or both. Theessential elements of a computer are a processor for executinginstructions and one or more memories for storing instructions and data.Generally, a computer will also include, or be operatively coupled tocommunicate with, one or more mass storage devices for storing datafiles; such devices include magnetic disks, such as internal hard disksand removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and optical disks. Storagedevices suitable for tangibly embodying computer program instructionsand data include all forms of non-volatile memory, including by way ofexample semiconductor memory devices, such as EPROM, EEPROM, and flashmemory devices; magnetic disks such as internal hard disks and removabledisks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. Theprocessor and the memory can be supplemented by, or incorporated in,ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits).

To provide for interaction with a user, the features can be implementedon a computer having a display device such as a CRT (cathode ray tube)or LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor for displaying information tothe user and a keyboard and a pointing device such as a mouse or atrackball by which the user can provide input to the computer.

The features can be implemented in a computer system that includes aback-end component, such as a data server, or that includes a middlewarecomponent, such as an application server or an Internet server, or thatincludes a front-end component, such as a client computer having agraphical user interface or an Internet browser, or any combination ofthem. The components of the system can be connected by any form ormedium of digital data communication such as a communication network.Examples of communication networks include a local area network (“LAN”),a wide area network (“WAN”), peer-to-peer networks (having ad-hoc orstatic members), grid computing infrastructures, and the Internet.

The computer system can include clients and servers. A client and serverare generally remote from each other and typically interact through anetwork, such as the described one. The relationship of client andserver arises by virtue of computer programs running on the respectivecomputers and having a client-server relationship to each other.

Although a few implementations have been described in detail above,other modifications are possible. For example, FIG. 12 is a blockdiagram showing alternative implementations for managing accommodations.In some implementations, a travel provision application can providemanagement of storage on a ship 1202. For example, a user can use thetravel provision application 102 to reserve crate storage, refrigerationstorage, and low humidity storage as shown on ship 1202. In someimplementations, the user can input various accommodation preferencesand rank them according to importance. The travel provision application102 can send an optimized accommodation suggestion based on the input.

In some implementations, the travel provision application can providereservations for warehouse storage 1204. In this example, a user mayselect preferences according to storage length, supported weight loads,environment, size of storage, or other attributes. As shown in warehouse1204, an available storage space can include properties, such as shortterm storage, upper rack, and refrigeration attributes.

In some implementations, the travel provision application can providereservations for hotel rooms. For example, space in a hotel 1206 can bereserved by one or more users of the application 102. In this example,one portion 1208 of the hotel is shown to include hotel attributes suchas non-smoking, queen sized beds, corner views, and reserved forattendees of a Shriner's convention. A user looking for this particularhotel room may enter preferences in the application 102 to receiveaccommodations that best match his or her preferences.

In some implementations, the travel provision application can reserveaccommodations on a bus 1210. For example, bus seats can includeattributes such as a location at the back of the bus, a seat with anearby lavatory, or a window seat. A user's preferences can be comparedto the properties to determine at best match as described previously.

In some implementations, the travel provision application can manageaccommodations for the ship 1202, the warehouse 1204, the hotel 1206,and the bus 1210. In this implementation, a customer can makereservations for several modes of transportation and/or storage usingone application.

Additionally, in some implementations, the processes 300 and 500 may beperformed, for example, by a system such as the systems 103, 200, or1200 and, for clarity of presentation, however, another system, orcombination of systems, may be used to perform the processes 300 and500.

In other implementations, the travel provision application 102 canautomatically provide an upgrade to the user for a next segment oftravel to offset, for example, the inconvenience of a delay. Forinstance, the travel provision application 102 can automatically detectthat a delay has occurred and can upgrade or otherwise modify acustomer's travel itinerary, accordingly. In some cases, the upgrade canoccur automatically without receiving customer or employee input. Forexample, the travel provision application 102 can upgrade a passengerwith a higher grade of service, for example, and notify the customerabout the upgrade. The notification may be sent if, for example, thecustomer's original reservation was used to fulfill a second customer'stravel reservation. The application 102 can then notify the passenger ofthe upgrade by sending an email, text message, or a phone call, forexample. In a similar fashion, the travel provision application 102 maylower a seat price for a particular customer. For example, if aparticular seat is located near the entrance of a lavatory, theapplication 102 can offer the seat for a lower price point.

In yet other implementations, the logic flows depicted in the figures donot require the particular order shown, or sequential order, to achievedesirable results. In addition, other steps may be provided, or stepsmay be eliminated, from the described flows, and other components may beadded to, or removed from, the described systems. Accordingly, otherimplementations are within the scope of the following claims.

1. A computer program product tangibly embodied in a computer readablemedium, the computer program product including instructions that, whenexecuted, perform operations for providing customized attributesrelating to conditions influencing a payload during travel that can beused to select accommodations when making travel provisions, theoperations comprising: defining, as part of a software application thatmanages travel provisions, software travel objects configurable torepresent a variety of types of accommodations for payloads; associatingthe software travel objects with configurable properties that specifyaccommodation attributes that influence the payloads during travel;receiving, during run-time of the software application, information usedto customize the configurable properties; and outputting one or more ofthe customized configurable properties for use by a user in selectingone or more of the accommodations during a travel provision.
 2. Thecomputer program product of claim 1, wherein the accommodations compriseseats, rooms, or reserved space on a motor vehicle, a sea craft, anaircraft, a train, or in a building.
 3. The computer program product ofclaim 1, wherein the customized configurable properties comprise anambience of a section of a travel carrier, physical amenities associatedwith the accommodation, services associated with the accommodations,personal traits of passengers located near the accommodations, socialgroups of passengers located near the accommodations, or location of theaccommodations.
 4. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein theoperations further comprise associating a pricing debit or credit witheach customized configurable property.
 5. The computer program productof claim 4, wherein the operations further comprise aggregating pricingdebits and credits with a base price of the one or more accommodationsto determine an adjusted price for each of the one or moreaccommodations.
 6. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein theoperations further comprise limiting the types of accommodations thatcan be represented by the software travel object using the customizedconfigurable properties.
 7. The computer program product of claim 1,wherein the software travel object comprises a class definition in anobject-oriented programming language.
 8. The computer program product ofclaim 1, wherein the user comprises a human or a software program. 9.The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the payloads comprisepassengers, crew, or cargo.
 10. The computer program product of claim 1,wherein the travel provision comprises a reservation for a passengeraccommodation.
 11. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein thetravel provision comprises a schedule for a crew or staff accommodation.12. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the travelprovision comprises a request for a cargo accommodation.
 13. Thecomputer program product of claim 1, wherein the travel comprises aperiod of storage.
 14. A system for providing customized criteria foruse in selecting an accommodation when making travel provisions, thesystem comprising: a data structure for software objects that areconfigurable to represent a plurality of types of accommodations thatare used in transportation of passengers, the data structure comprising:configurable fields that are associated with aspects of accommodationsthat affect a passenger's travel experience; a field customizationmodule configured to receive input used to customize the configurablefields during run-time of a software application that manages travelprovisions; and a customer interface to present at least a portion ofthe customized configurable fields for use by a customer in selection ofone or more of the accommodations during a travel provision.
 15. Acomputer-implemented process for providing customized attributesrelating to a passenger's experience during travel that can be used toselect accommodations when making travel reservations, the processcomprising: defining software travel objects that are configurable torepresent a variety of types of accommodations used in transportation ofpassengers; associating the software travel objects with configurableproperties that specify accommodation attributes that affect apassenger's experience during travel; receiving, through a userinterface, information used to customize the configurable propertiesduring run-time of a software application that manages travelreservations for accommodations; and outputting the customizedconfigurable properties for use by a user in a selection of one or moreof the accommodations during a travel reservation.
 16. The process ofclaim 15, wherein the information used to customize the configurableproperties comprises physical attributes associated with theaccommodations.
 17. The process of claim 15, wherein the informationused to customize the configurable properties comprises servicesassigned to the accommodations.
 18. The process of claim 15, wherein theinformation used to customize the configurable properties comprises anenvironment assigned to the accommodations.
 19. The process of claim 15,wherein the information used to customize the configurable properties isincluded in a template applied to multiple accommodations.
 20. Theprocess of claim 15, further comprising generating new configurableproperties to associated with accommodations during run-time of thesoftware application that manages the travel reservation.
 21. Theprocess of claim 15, wherein the user is the passenger.